"They followed the blood trail to the house, my lord."

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Something was outside.

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"The original victim was returned to his family this evening. He will live."

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"Tsst!"

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"The attackers came up by the stairs."

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"Orcs?"

"Yes."

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"What's—"

"Shh! Listen!"

Creaaaak.

Shadows passed by the window, one by one. So many.

"Get her. Go."

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"They broke through the front door. It was not barricaded; likely there was not time."

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"Ada-!"

"Hush! Come with me."

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"The... first body was found in the front room."

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"Nana's got it. Don't worry."

"Then why do I have to hide?"

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"Along with over two dozen orc corpses."

"How did they take her down?"

"It appears they simply buried her."

.

They were through. They were—no... no...

He'd always known this would happen.

"I need you to stay quiet no matter what, okay?"

"But—"

"No matter what. Starting now."

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"The second was in front of the bed with a dozen more. He used a lamp as a club."

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He didn't notice the blood until he was falling.

.

"And...?"

"He succeeded."

"Did he know?"

.

His vision blurred, but all was quiet except for the distant shouts of elves.

He'd done it.

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"Yes. He died smiling."

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I love you.

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"Thranduil..."

They stepped into the house. Not an inch of the floor was free of blood.

"...what am I going to tell Kimbrel?"

The king took a moment to steady himself. "Whatever you will tell her, you had best start with it now. There is nothing here which cannot wait for tomorrow."

Alagon gave a curt bow and left, casually snapping a dead orc's wrist with his heel as he went.

The second general present appeared right after that, looking ill. "I—I cannot. I need some fresh air."

Thranduil clapped Taensirion on the shoulder and moved on.

The hallway was miraculously clean except for the blood trails where orcs had been dragged out. A few shaken soldiers waited here, whispering among themselves.

"Please can you come out?"

The bedroom was empty of orcs but not of blood. Tathor and Silana knelt here, faces streaked with tears. Tathor had one hand extended under the bed.

"Come on, little one."

"My Ada's going to take you home and get you something to eat," Silana added.

"Please?"

Apparently the answer was negative, because both elves sat back on their heels. Tathor sniffled, and Silana hugged him.

A third form brushed past Thranduil, this one newly arrived. "Excuse me, Ada." Legolas joined his friends in kneeling in front of the bed and held out a tiny bow. "Remember this?" He waited, then continued, "Do you want to learn to do what your Nana did? You can't do that if you hide."

After a few seconds, a small hand emerged to grasp the bow, and then the whole red-haired elfling followed after it. She was indeed unharmed, though she curled stiffly into a ball as Legolas gathered her into his arms. He lifted the girl, still clutching the bow, and carried her out past the carnage. He covered her eyes as they passed the sheet covering the two still forms—the mother whom she looked so much like and the father who had finally killed his first orc tonight.

Thranduil paused beside the sheet, remembering; he had barely spoken with them for many years, but they had once been his friends. They had stayed close to Legolas, of course. "I will not forget all that you did. She will be cared for."

Legolas was handing the elfling to Taensirion, who had been sitting on the steps with his head down. She was not a tiny child—she was old enough to begin learning archery, after all. She had her mother's talent. But so, too, did she have her father's skill at healing; he had already been teaching her how to perform the spell that had saved Alagon's life years prior. Taensirion hugged her close. "Hello, Tauriel."

She shuddered.

"She must've seen," Tathor murmured to Legolas.

"Would you like to stay with Lanthirel and me tonight?" Taensirion asked the elfling. "Lanthirel will make you some cookies if you would like."

She didn't react at all to his words, but he kept talking to her as he carried her down the stairs.

Tathor was the first to break down and sob when they were gone.

Yes, I have been planning this since before the first chapter.

In case you will be less likely to kill me if you read more with Felrion and Kilvara, here is a handy guide to some of their best chapters:

(Oh, and please do tell me whether you saw this coming or not. It's hard to figure out how secretive to be.)

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21—"Matchmakers" (Sky, Thran, etc. try to get them together; see somewhat vague hint about this chapter's revelations in scene four)

27—"Incompatible" (Felrion and Kilvara have just gotten married when Felrion & Taen get in a big fight)

50—"A Story!" (Elfling Legolas and Firith, and Baby Tathor visit Felrion and Kilvara and hear a story about Sky)

55—"Crusades" (Kilvara and Silana gather evidence to show Alagon the soldiers are being trained too young)

57-60—"Challenge" parts 1-4 (The guys think they can manage without the girls for a whole week... Various relevant scenes throughout.)

66—"To Catch an Elk" part 3 (Legolas and Tathor try to duplicate their parents' feat of catching elk, and Felrion and Kilvara have to go rescue them)

75—"Renewal" (Felrion and Taen have a talk and decide to be friends again—though their fight ended at the end of 48, "At Least")

84—"Magic Tricks" (Alagon has been poisoned by the same stuff that will later affect Kili, and Felrion and Tathor must heal him)